HBO to simulcast Game of Thrones' entire fifth season everywhere but the UK each week

The fifth season of Game of Thrones will air simultaneously across the world...except in the UK.

HBO has announced that it plans to simulcast the first episode on 12 April at 9pm EST through global partnership carriers and its own HBO-branded networks, including HBO Asia, HBO Canada, HBO Europe, HBO Latin America, HBO Netherlands, and HBO Nordic, though that means people in some countries will need to stay up late or wake up really early to watch the premiere of their favourite television show.

Not only will HBO broadcast Game of Throne's fifth season premiere episode, but also the entire season, creating what HBO described as a "global television event" week after week throughout the season’s 10-episode run. Sky has confirmed to Pocket-lint that it plans to show the premiere on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV the following evening at 9pm UK time. Thus, unlike last year, Sky doesn't want to do the simulcast.

The European satellite broadcaster aired the first episode of season 4 at 2am to run parallel with the show's US debut, giving Brits the opportunity to watch before Twitter flooded with spoilers. Sky won't partake in the simulcast this year though, despite the rest of the world being on board. A Sky spokesman recently told Pocket-lint that the broadcaster simply wants all UK fans to experience the show together.

Game of Thrones is an adaptation of George R. R. Martin's fantasy novel series, the first of which is titled A Game of Thrones. The trailer for the fifth season debuted yesterday at the Apple Watch event, alongside news that Apple TV had an exclusive streaming partnership with HBO Now.